Aymeric Laporte to switch allegiances from France to Spain ahead of Euro 2020

Aymeric Laporte will be called up by Spain for Euro 2020 after years of being overlooked by his native France.

The Manchester City defender has represented Les Bleus at every youth level and been called up to the senior squad but has never made an appearance.

According to Marca, Spain will take advantage of France's lack of faith by including Laporte in their squad for this summer's European Championship. Manager Luis Enrique has been planning the move for some time and it is believed the switch has received the green light from FIFA with an announcement expected in the coming days.

Laporte was born in Agen, France but signed for Athletic Bilbao in 2010. He went on to spend eight years there before leaving for City, giving him a strong claim for dual nationality. It is not the first time that La Furia Roja have swooped in to 'sign' a player with split loyalties.

Back in 2014 they secured the services of Brazilian born striker Diego Costa ahead of the World Cup. He has since gone on to make 24 appearances for Spain, scoring 10 goals.

Laporte's arrival leaves Spain with a strong group of centre-backs heading into the tournament. Pau Torres will likely take one of the starting spots, having seriously impressed at Villarreal this season, with Sergio Ramos, Inigo Martinez, Eric Garcia and now Laporte competing to partner him.

Meanwhile, France also look good with the likes of Presnel Kimpembe, Raphael Varane, Clement Lenglet and Dayot Upamecano to choose from.

Laporte has struggled for consistent minutes at the Etihad Stadium of late with John Stones and Ruben Dias forming a solid partnership. Overall he has made 27 appearances in all competitions with a few niggling injuries also limiting his involvement.